Increased safety standards have put considerable pressure on the light car market and many car companies have now abandoned the segment. Honda for example has now axed its Jazz light car, a model that was extremely popular over a number of years. Gone too of course Holden’s Barina, the Toyota Prius C, Hyundai’s Accent and Ford’s Fiesta apart from the sporty ST grade. Currency fluctuations and specification increases have seen many others now climb over the $20,000 pricing barrier.

If you’ve got a budget of up to $20,000 the available choice in light cars has dropped significantly. There are now only five automatics under 20,000 – Kia’s Picanto, Mitsubishi’s Mirage, Suzuki’s Ignis and Baleno and the MG3 – The MG3 the big seller with 33 per cent of light car sales and a starting price of $17,490 drive-away plus a 7-year unlimited kilometre warranty. Only minus, a three-star ANCAP crash safety rating.

I’m David Berthon.

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